Cheating Question..
 

Hello- I have re-started the low carb lifestyle again in January 2015.(Unfortunately, gained back everything I lost the last time). I have lost 23 pounds and other than the occasional atkins candy bar, I have not cheated at all. Last night I went out to dinner to celebrate an event for my daughter and and loaded up on breadsticks. (I had like 4!) The good news is that I was too full after the salad and the breadsticks to even eat the manicotti that I ordered, but she wanted a sundae so we stopped at MCD's on the way home to get a sundae. Yes...I ate one too. I don't know why I did that, I have had no sweet cravings at all for the past month and half, but I just had to have that sundae even though I was full.
Anyhow, I felt awful, my stomach hurt and I felt like I gained back everything I lost. (I didn't of course). How bad did I mess my system up? Any suggestions what I should do to day to possibly counter-act that hour of stupidity I had last night? Drink more water today? Eat less? I am obviously going back on plan and I'm not tempted one bit today, I just want to make sure that I make the best possible choices today.
I think I might be rambling. I'm sorry! Thank you for any advice/comments.

Eating very few carbs over the next few days should help.

As to WHY you did it, I would look back over how you talked yourself into it, or what you were thinking. Did you feel singled out for the way you eat? Did you give yourself a reward for being good? (I know, it's a sabotage reward...) This is how you can not be blindsided out of nowhere next time.

stay on strict plan and drink lots of water.

you can't do much more.

key here is FIX WHY YOU DID WHAT YOU DID! WHY did you even have that FIRST breadstick??

this whole lc eating change is about the food choices and WHY you CHOSE to have a night off and eat carbs you know make you sick and fat.

work on the inner demons with that. it is important. it is key to living this lc life.

You guys are awesome! Thank you!! I guess I didn't even think to ask myself why I did it. The first thought that comes quickly to mind is that bread is really my favorite thing to eat in the world and I guess I just wanted it. I am sure if I think harder on this question today, I will probably come up with something a little deeper/meaningful/truthful. Let me think on this.

I am so glad I came back here!

I can honestly say this...I don't like the way my body felt after eating last night. I'm not in any hurry to do it again.

Thank you again for your replies and support.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Use this as a learning lesson. Too bad we can't "un" eat our mistakes... **heavy sigh** like the undo option??

Here's something one of the sage posters suggested a while back:
Here's the kicker...it will take you 2-3 or more days to get back into ketosis and all the wondrous things this LC WOE offers but stick to your LC WOE plan 100% with no more cheats and just write this one off as a learning experience!

Boy I'll have to share "MY BIG Fat Infamous Thanksgiving Fiasco of 2013" with you one day...

Onward, ↓ DOWNWARD & MAINTENANCE 4ever! :cheer:

:rheart: Jo

Hi! :wave: My name is Jo and I’m a recovering morbidly obese carb addict!

You might want to check out the Wheat Belly blog and Facebook page, and the book is excellent. Dr. Davis explains all the reasons bread has such a hold on us... and such a poor effect on our health.

I went through something similar recently- although more extreme. My family and I went on vacation and I ate carbs for 6 days straight- and didn't count anything. I ate a ton of pizza, pasta and candy. While I enjoyed it, I felt like crap the entire time (i've lost 30lbs on this plan since January this year) I knew I needed to get back on it. So- as of this last Sunday I've been working out hard- and eating less than 20 carbs per day. I already feel much better and can tell I've dropped the water weight. I look at that those days as a road-block, but I'm past it now and ready to stay on track. Best of luck to you!

For you and most people, Atkins bars aren't cheating. How can you know that for yourself?

There. That's how you know that for yourself.


No more than you had for the previous 20, 30, 40 years. Moreover since your body was all carbed out, even four bread sticks won't affect your weekly averages all that much. Just keep on keeping on and make note of where you were mentally when you decided to reach for that first bread stick and then the second. Perhaps it was a sense of loss over not meeting your own standards rather than anything physically that caused you to go for the second bread stick. Maybe you got bad advice about Atkins bars being a form of cheating and you thought, "Well since I'm already cheating with Atkins bars...." Maybe it was just food boredom. Maybe it was wanting to fit in. Whatever.